Maharajah Duleep Singh: Exhibition opens to exiled royal family in Norfolk

An exhibition exploring the life of the last emperor of the Punjab, who made his home in Norfolk after being exiled from India, is set to open.

Maharajah Duleep Singh bought the Elveden Estate, near Thetford, more than 150 years ago.

Family artefacts from the Peter Bance Collection have been loaned for the three-month exhibition at the Norfolk Record Office in Norwich.

The council said the family "made a real impact on the county".

The Maharajah Duleep Singh was exiled to England after his kingdom was annexed by the British in India in the 1840s.

Despite failed attempts to return to India, he used his financial compensation to buy Elveden Hall, where his wife and children then settled.

For the next century the family continued to live in Norfolk.

His son Prince Frederick donated Thetford's Ancient House Museum to the town and also joined the Norfolk Yeomanry, later serving in World War One.

The Maharajah's daughters were active suffragists, supporting the rights for women to vote.

The youngest, Sophia, belonged to the suffragettes and in 1910, led a 400-strong demonstration to Parliament with prominent suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst - a protest that became known as "Black Friday".

Thetford is also home to the Maharajah's equestrian bronze statue at Butten Island.

Norfolk County Council said the lives of this "extraordinary family" will be explored with items from the collection of Peter Bance, who has spent 25 years amassing this largely unseen archive, much of which will go on display for the first time.

Objects include the Maharajah's velvet jacket, his shooting paraphernalia with which he shot game at Norfolk parties with the Prince of Wales - later King Edward VII - textiles and apparel of the princesses, photograph albums and personal intimate letters.

Councillor Margaret Dewsbury, who is responsible for communities and partnerships, said: "Norfolk is a diverse county which is proud of its history.

"This project celebrates the life and work of a very influential family who made a real impact on the county, which one can still see today."

The exhibition, organised by the Anglo Punjab Heritage Foundation, will be open on weekdays until 29 September at the Norfolk Archive Centre, Martineau Lane.

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